Imagine sending money to a friend and having it arrive before you even close the app. Picture a local business accepting a home-grown card just as easily as Visa or Mastercard. This is not a distant vision – it’s happening now in the United Arab Emirates. The UAE is charging toward a cashless future, with Dubai aiming for 90% digital transactions by 2026. Key to this transformation are two game-changing developments: an instant payments platform and a domestic card scheme. So, let’s see what you need to know about instant payments and the UAE’s own card network, and how they can supercharge your product.
The Rise of Instant Payments in the UAE
Speed rules finance. Traditional bank transfers can take hours—or days—especially across banks or outside working hours. Instant payments flip that script: money moves immediately, 24/7. In the UAE, the Central Bank’s Aani (launched late 2023) pushes funds in seconds, even at 3 AM.
Aani is phone-number based, so no IBAN hassle. It supports bill splitting and is adding QR payments and direct debit. Transfers run in AED and are free up to AED 5,000 per transaction, boosting adoption. Eight major banks joined at launch, with more onboarding, so instant P2P, wallet top-ups, and faster e-commerce are becoming standard.
For builders, this is now table stakes. If your digital wallet development UAE or banking app development UAE project can’t move money in real time, it feels outdated. Real-time rails enable instant bill pay, salary and gig payouts, and chat-like P2P flows. Plan integration via partner bank APIs or the central rails—because in fintech software development UAE, delays lose users.
Jaywan: The UAE’s New Domestic Card Scheme
Money is moving faster—and now it’s moving on local rails. Jaywan is the UAE’s domestic card scheme, processing transactions inside the national system. The aim: payment sovereignty, lower costs, and wider inclusion. Local routing keeps fees and data under national control while preserving a familiar card experience for shoppers and merchants.
Built under the Central Bank’s FIT program, Jaywan rolled out in 2024. Acquirers like Network International are onboarding 60,000+ merchants, so a Jaywan debit payment can route through UAESWITCH and settle domestically rather than via overseas networks.
A smart twist: co-badging with Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and UnionPay. From H2 2025, banks will issue dual-logo cards. In the UAE, they run on Jaywan for low-cost local processing. Abroad or online, they switch to the global network. One card, local savings and global reach.
For builders, this is a new requirement, not a nice-to-have. Payment gateway integration UAE should support Jaywan BINs and domestic routing. Banking app development UAE and fintech app development Dubai teams can issue or support Jaywan for AED spend, aiming at faster settlement and potentially better economics. Keeping transaction data local can also simplify compliance and boost user trust.
Financial inclusion is core. Prepaid Jaywan cards can serve cash-reliant groups such as temporary workers and students. That opens product ideas: budgeting apps tied to Jaywan prepaid, or Islamic fintech development with Sharia-compliant cards for halal transactions. The ecosystem is widening beyond legacy networks—use the local element to design new products, partnerships, and pricing models.
Implications for Fintech Builders: Adapting to Instant, Local Payments
What do instant payments and a domestic card scheme mean for those building fintech products? In short: adapt or fall behind. The UAE fintech scene in 2025 is extremely dynamic, with consumers embracing digital wallets, mobile banking, and even crypto trading. If you’re developing an app in this space, you’ll need to integrate these new payment rails to meet user expectations and compliance needs.
Let’s break down a few key areas and how they are affected:
- Digital Wallets & P2P Payment Apps: If you’re doing digital wallet development UAE, instant payments are mandatory: users expect real-time P2P and bill splits like messaging. With Aani, your wallet can push AED instantly to any bank account or wallet via phone number or IBAN—just integrate through partner banks or the central rails. Watch Request-to-Pay for freelancer invoices, rent, and shared bills. Bottom line: if your app moves money, make it instant—anything slower feels like friction.
- Banking Apps & Neo-banks: For banking app development UAE, modernization is urgent. Banks are wiring Aani into mobile apps so customers get instant payments without extra signup. Design flows with a clear “Send via Instant Payment” option wherever transfers appear. The 2024 Open Finance Regulation enables secure, standardized open finance APIs UAE, so approved third-party fintechs can, with consent, initiate payments and access account data without rebuilding rails. Use these APIs—not screen scraping—for cleaner integrations and day-one compliance. Connect to national systems (Aani, UAE Pass, etc.) so users move smoothly across channels and your app stays competitive.
- E-Commerce and Payment Gateways: If you’re building a payment gateway or e-commerce stack in the UAE, Jaywan support is now essential. Merchants expect lower costs and local processing, so work with acquirers that handle Jaywan (e.g., Network International) and ensure your system recognizes Jaywan BINs like Visa/Mastercard. Add routing to send domestic transactions via UAESWITCH/Jaywan and fall back to international networks when needed; the updates are straightforward and can improve settlement speed and merchant economics. At checkout, display a “Pay with Jaywan” option—just as sites in KSA show Mada or in India show RuPay—to signal local acceptance. In short, payment gateway integration UAE now includes Jaywan by default.
- Trading & Investment Platforms: For trading platform development UAE—and adjacent verticals like wealth, remittances, and crypto—instant payments and local cards are decisive. Enable Aani for instant funding so users deposit AED in seconds and trade without waiting, and support instant withdrawals to build trust when profits hit. If you issue cards, route local AED spend over the Jaywan scheme to cut costs and widen acceptance, including mobile wallets. Jaywan already works with Google Pay and Samsung Pay, with Apple Pay next, so make wallet compatibility a default requirement.
- Islamic Fintech and Niche Services: The UAE is a prime market for Islamic fintech development, with customers seeking Sharia-compliant services. Instant payments and domestic card schemes fit this need: real-time, account-to-account transfers avoid interest, speed up remittances, and cut costs while local processing supports fairness and transparency. Builders can turn this into products—an Islamic budgeting app that sends zakat or charity instantly, or an SME platform that disburses halal financing via instant payout. If you issue cards, route local AED spend over Jaywan and enable mobile wallets to widen acceptance. The takeaway: Aani and Jaywan provide the rails to deliver faster, compliant experiences—and to expand access across the Islamic finance segment.
To summarize these implications, here’s a quick reference table of the key developments and why they matter for builders:
| Development | What It Is (UAE Context) | Why It Matters for Fintech Apps |
| Aani – Instant Payments | Real-time bank transfer platform by the Central Bank (Al Etihad Payments). Allows instant, 24/7 AED transfers using phone numbers or IBANs. | Enables real-time P2P payments and instant fund transfers. Your app can offer on-the-spot money movement (no waiting), which is now expected by users in a cashless, digital-first market. Integrating Aani via open APIs can set your service apart with speed and convenience. |
| Jaywan – Domestic Card Scheme | UAE’s national card payment network, co-badged with Visa/Mastercard/others for global reach. Processes local card transactions within UAE (via UAESWITCH) and supports debit/prepaid cards. | Lets you support local card payments with potentially lower fees and improved local trust. Fintechs can issue co-badged cards, ensuring customers have worldwide acceptance but local benefits. For payment apps and gateways, supporting Jaywan is key to serving UAE customers and merchants as the economy goes cashless. |
| Open Finance APIs | New regulatory framework (2024) requiring banks to provide open APIs for data and payments. Part of UAE’s push for interconnectivity in fintech. | Makes integration easier: you can securely connect to bank systems to fetch account info or initiate payments (like Aani transfers) without reinventing the wheel. This fosters embedded finance – e.g. your budgeting app can show a user’s bank balance live, or your marketplace can initiate an instant payment payout to sellers. Leverage these APIs to build features faster and in compliance. |
| Cashless Society Initiatives | Government push (Dubai Cashless Strategy) for 90% digital transactions by 2026. Central Bank FIT program upgrading national payment infrastructure (instant payments, card scheme, digital IDs, etc.). | The market environment is primed for digital solutions. Users are rapidly adopting cashless methods (over 90% of SMEs now take digital payments). Fintech builders should align with this trend: ensure your app supports popular cashless methods (contactless cards, mobile wallets, QR payments). The government’s support means there are often incentives or at least cooperative regulators for innovators in this space – use sandboxes or innovation hubs to pilot your integration of instant payments or new payment methods. |
Building with an Eye on the Future
The emergence of instant payments and the domestic card scheme in the UAE is part of a larger story: the modernization of the financial ecosystem. For fintech entrepreneurs and developers, these are not abstract policy changes – they are concrete tools you can use to create better user experiences and more competitive products. A few parting suggestions as you incorporate these into your plans:
- Stay Agile with Integration: Tech and rules shift fast. This month you integrate Aani; next month you may need a digital dirham (CBDC). Build modular apps with a payments layer that supports multiple rails—Aani today, a GCC instant network or a crypto-to-fiat gateway tomorrow—without rebuilding your core.
- User Education & Trust: Educate users as you ship instant and local payments. Highlight “Instant Transfer (via Aani)” in the UI and spell out limits and security (e.g., “free up to AED 5,000; phone number only”). If you issue or accept Jaywan, show the branding and benefits (e.g., “zero-fee local card transaction,” “powered by UAE’s national card network”) to build trust. Many users value local, secure processing—tap into that sentiment while setting clear expectations.
- Performance and Testing: Instant rails raise expectations: everything must respond now. Optimize flows so tapping Send confirms immediately and balances refresh without lag. Load-test peak events (e.g., thousands of salary payouts on the 1st) to ensure your wallet or banking app holds up. Host in-region cloud to meet data rules and cut latency, and apply solid DevOps to keep the app fast and reliable for UAE users.
- Compliance and Security by Design: You’re entering a tightly regulated zone. Confirm licensing early—using Aani typically requires partnering with a licensed bank or approval as a Payment Service Provider. Build security from day one: end-to-end encryption, MFA, and standards like PCI-DSS for cards plus CBUAE Stored Value Facilities rules for wallets. Compliance-by-design avoids legal risk and earns trust—pair that with real speed, and your UAE fintech app will stand out.
Conclusion
The UAE fintech scene is moving fast. Instant payments and the Jaywan domestic card scheme are pushing the country toward a cashless economy. If you’re in fintech software development UAE or planning a fintech app development Dubai launch, build with these rails now to match user and regulator expectations—and to stay competitive.
This stack expands what your product can do: digital wallet development UAE that sends money as easily as a message; local cards that cut costs for SMEs and broaden consumer access; open finance APIs UAE that power account aggregation and instant disbursements. Think mechanisms and outcomes: instant payments drive engagement and revenue; a domestic scheme grows inclusion and resilience.Ready to ship? If you’re planning fintech app development Dubai or digital wallet development UAE, we can help you integrate Aani, Jaywan, and open finance APIs UAE—from architecture to certification and go-live. Tell us your use case, and we’ll map a delivery plan in days.
Ready to ship? If you’re planning fintech app development Dubai or digital wallet development UAE, we can help you integrate, and open finance APIs UAE—from architecture to certification and go-live. Tell us your use case, and we’ll map a delivery plan in days.